If you’re looking for a thrilling horror movie, the kind where monsters jump out of closets, then this movie is NOT for you.  “The Babadook”, while wildly entertaining, is not your average scary movie.

Unlike most horror movies, it does not bring the dead to life and so on.  It instead deals with the mental instability of widowed mother Amelia, and her son Sammy.  Along with behavioral issues and social disadvantages, Sammy also develops an obsession to monsters.

At first, we see that the movie purposes that the Babadook is a creature.  It latches onto the human soul and torments that person.  However as the story develops, the Babadook becomes more of a metaphor.  He is the thing that lonely people become.

Amelia falls deeper into depression as the movie goes on.  Along with taking care of Sammy, she deals with other stress and anxiety.  The Babadook, or her mental illness, has an easy time taking control of her.  By the end of the movie, she is killing dogs and throwing up black tar.  In general, this movie demonstrates how much the human brain can affect the actions of a person.

The film received a 98 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.  It has a very real effect on the person watching it.  Critics say, “The Babadook relies on real horror rather than cheap jump scares”, and this is true.  The movie brings out the real horror in all of us.